ASA Adjudication on Gallaher Ltd. (A13-228477)

A tobacco company ad included an email from the UK Department of Health saying that “there isn’t any hard evidence” to show that plain packaging of tobacco products is effective. Below the email the ad stated: “WE COULDN’T HAVE PUT IT BETTER OURSELVES” followed by the name of the tobacco company. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found the ad was misleading. The ASA ruled that the ad implied that no real evidence existed to support the introduction of plain packaging at the time the ad appeared in 2013; however, the email was written in 2011. The ASA noted that because evidence did exist to support the introduction of plain packaging in 2013 the ad was likely to mislead. The ASA ordered the company that the ad must not appear in current form again.

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ASA Adjudication on Gallaher Ltd, Complaint Ref: A13-228477 (2014).

  • United Kingdom
  • Jul 30, 2014
  • Advertising Standards Authority

Parties

Plaintiff

  • ASH
  • Cancer Research UK
  • UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies
  • Unidentified complainants

Defendant Gallaher Ltd

Legislation Cited

Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code, Edition 12, Rule 21.1 (Tobacco, rolling papers and filters)

Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code, Edition 12, Rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising)

Related Documents

Type of Litigation

Tobacco Control Topics

Substantive Issues

Type of Tobacco Product

None